Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-03-08
-,,-c uavCH,s RIG SCHEME.
,r,.t Arc He and His Friends 10 40
nov xX;fh nO.OoO,O00 Acres"
-, tLs helD York Void.

'sao of m old Mexican land grant oi
pu a9o o0o acres OF land In the ooutA"es'
w. p',r,s Hatch and an American sfnoi-
N ~" mentioned IN Mondays " ora, mas
oa o,si,,ed good deal OF comment mere
W. ,'.,,., i supposed TO be the ArSshssS
1De which has been frequently ene "a
efau'' 5ipantic scheme. Inls one Vi
Bis Hatch is surmlsed 10 Do only IN
NJ NJ one revived. There III suo-
o ,a,on that behind Inc view. view
Wv operator are the Dig caVele r. tso
~ the Southwest. Inc PuI4n"se ,h;nb
ola gran, comnelled to resort to keep out
Inc! az sattIers. There has been oIspo-
se !u"' ~, the mart of Congress at recent
siIlJn O m renudiate the old grants. NO
Sessions believes that Congress would
saue ar ir give authority for the issuance
ever u"a to't To so much territory as Is
D. go NV the Arkansas grant. Inls
cIdlaLr" ybe belief that any one VINO pur-
comm COMM ri :, has motive Interior TO that OF
en',nir,ng actual possession OF tne oV,oVV'-
S Scqu n,as claimed TO be included IN lts
Do 1rotasts have been pouring In upon
c,.oss for several years. back against
t%a G5onon0ljzation of 80 much OF the pun
iin dnmaIn bvt the cattle men. mere Is au
1inwrit1en law among STOCK ineh 'nas
NOV should control the lana midway oe-
tween the streams, springs or otneI ue-
nosits OF water they own ana IuaI VI 'nei,
po 2.t neighbor. In New Mexico ana
Arizona there are lew streams on '.o
,,rtaca and no lakes or ponds 10
' 'ua'I Of. But there are sub
'drrenean streams fed by springs
800. ri Start IN the mountains and sink
aftar rnnning a few miles, the water
on,icI, IN the surface here and there.
Athese water rights, as they are called,
80 nra.amnted or taken up under tne
ton,ostead act years ago. There was a
nond deal of fraud practiced in acquiring
title to he lands on which there Is water,
I'M IN the majority OF instances the
nrcsent bolders bought out or crowded
out bona tide settlers.
In inc seyenties the late Earl OF .Airlie
hocome interested IN the cattle business
in Colorado. AID through the agency OF
stock commission house In KANSAS City
commenced to buy up some OF TIE DIX
ranches ia Southeastern Colorado ana
Nortneastern New Mexico. Scotch
rapitalists were induced to take stock
"a the Prairie Cattle Company "hlch ne
nrganizad. 1t spread by purchase and
controlled an immense tract in Colorado,
New Mexico, the Panhandle of Texas
and Indian Territory. The herds of the
Prairie Company were numbered by
lens of thousands and roamed over
thousands of acres of government land
which the company claimed as its
own, All the territory they were
entitled to was perhaps 100 or
200 sections OF land of $40 acres each.
hundreds OF miles of barbed wire were
stretched, princely pastures fenced off
and Prairie Cattle Company cattle fat
tened, while other herds roamed over the
plains suffering from thirst, and frequent
", when prairie fires swept over the coun-
trv, with nothing to eat. A bad state of
affairs existed in consequence OF these
practices, and efforts were made in the
Legislatures OF the States and Territories
/ 10 prevent the fencing In of such large
tracts of government land. But where
laws have been passed they have only
been carried out in a half-hearted way.
i Congress has been mem or1alized to pass
some law regulating the occupancy of
these lands, but thus far has done moth
ing.
IL is now thought that anticipating
Congressional action, and seeing that
their power is to be curbed, the Bag cattle
mOnOpOlies have banded together and
purchased the claim of the heirs to the
Arkansas grant, TO give them some color
OF right to the land they had been occupy
Ing so long. rent free. Four or five years
ago a representative of some OF the
biggest cattle men In New Mexico came
to Washington to investigate the Arkan-
ssS grant. At that time it was proposed
10 pay the heirs OF the claimant a certain
sum annually, while they were engaged
IN trying to get the grant confirmed.
40 action was taken by Congress and so
tne clam to the Arkansas grant dropped
out OF sight,
Early In the century young English
pnySlelan named Baal dritted to Mexico.
he became surgeon in the army and
look native wife. In one of the reyolu.
tiohs IN that country DR.. Beal personally
attended the Mexican ruler. He rose to
prominence, and as a reward for his SER
Wees the Arkansas grant was given MIN.
~ Was increased on condition that colo
ne n1 shOulu De established north OF the
1'io " dhue' NeXlcO dld not care SO much
% To ihsuguraIlng an emigration policy,
~ as tne country was infested by red
an; Alue ~ was deemed good stroke of pol
~! " nave the unlnhabited sections col
VVnizeu, because the people there would
nave 10 hgat the Indians in self-defense
an "a lumber OF settlements We're started,
S Slu as many as 1000 people are said to
1 tn laSen up thelrresIdence on the grant
a out9qgn DR.. BeaPs persuasion. Malaria
" "nG indian raids drove them away. IL ia
ClE wlthln the past few years that any
son,a was set up 10 the grant. There il
st tne question about the bounda ssbut
sslartlng irOm the Rio Grapde me wastsr,
s ~TiU - SAD to be the Pecos river and Red
i've, r OIL New Mexico, extending north.
o "",u ~ 20 lhe Arkansas river in Colorado
So au hahsas. The original eastern noun.
tsmI. 10 Vi no consequence, because II ex.
e aeuued over into Texas. and when II was
tSs m' nu 10 the Union it was stimulated
fan sr~' none OF the old grants should he cor.
tho o eo mat would cOnfine the grant to
New ~osl boundaries of Colorado and
"a ocn % oeSc 1t Is estimated to include
~TnyVV,OOO acres or over Is 0o0 souaro
Sait winch is more than one and one
York. '"is &c as the State of New
Rsncb s aatch organized the Cattle
the ran anu Land Company about 1850 ana
roe ranches of the COMPANY locata 49, w. Iu
RADIO ard St[lp on the eastern edge OF Colo.
by tba NeW Mexico would be coverad
ex.Sano1anlIA KANSAS grant The ranges nj
hotor;etvo ,; W. Dorsey, OF star route
MES aro ana a. lot of other biz oomna,
ara al within the limits. ana tho oUnprs
iu all 6upDOand 20 b.. - ~ VIC Nucrb